External Affairs Chief Tyler Livezey is taking a step out of the senate and filling one of four student body president candidacies.
Livezey said that one of the main reasons he is running is to grow the pride and involvement students have for Sam Houston State University.
“A culture on campus is how we [Livezey’s ticket] are putting it,” Livezey said. “We’re excited about Sam Houston and we want everyone to feel the same way. We want everyone to wear orange on Friday, I know that kind of died off. We’re talking about getting support and filling up the football games. We know there is so much potential here and we want to harness it and watch the community grow.”
In addition to the growth of school spirit, Livezey, if elected, plans to continue several projects that student government has already started, including construction of bike lanes, addressing safety issues and parking dilemmas.
By overseeing these projects this year as external affairs chief, Livezey said he has gained valuable leadership skills.
“I think you have to be a leader in the senate before you can be [a leader on the executive board],” Livezey said. “The senators, not to knock on the [executive] board, are the most involved, they’re the hardest workers, they’re the grunts and I think they understand the best of what’s going on in student government.”
Livezey ran with current president Spencer Copeland on last year’s ticket as secretary but lost to JoAnna Moore. Through his challenge, however, he gained his position as external affairs chief. The presidential candidate said looking back, he’s thankful he got the experience inside the senate.
“I think it shows how involved [the chiefs] are and how much you learn from being in that position by the relationships you’re building and the work that is getting done,” Livezey said.
Livezey also said he gained a better understanding of how intricate any project, no matter how small, can be.
“There are so many pieces to make just the tiniest movement happen,” Livezey said. “The easiest example is the Bobby K. Marks crosswalk. So many pieces have to happen, so many relationships have to be built, so many people have to sign off on this and actually get it to someone’s desk. It’s insane the amount of relationships [that] have to be built just to make something as simple as putting a crosswalk in happen.”
Although Livezey isn’t quite sure what will happen if he isn’t elected president, he remains hopeful that he will stay involved in SGA. If elected, he says his only nervousness lies within the ability to get everything done.
“[I’m] nervous about not being able to do all that we want to do,” Livezey said. “We have so many great ideas and so many things that we want to do that I’m nervous we’re not able to complete it all, but I know that we can start it. We can at least continue to create a foundation for it.”